Mechanical pig figure

Mechanical toys, also known as automata, first appeared as cleverly devised amusements for aristocrats in Europe. The expertise behind these highly crafted pieces came from clockmakers who applied detailed clockwork mechanisms in the eighteenth century. As the toys became cheaper to produce they became more widespread. The technological advances in printing on sheet metal lead to an explosion of cheap tinplate mass-produced mechanical toys.

	Autoperipatetikos Doll

At the turn of the century Germany was the principle producer of these toys. Makers such as Lehmann, Bing and Schuco were the main German producers. They created a vast range of different toys such as crawling beetles, tap dancers, clowns, cars, zeppelins and many animals.